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Chartered Institute of Building Student Challenge win

3 April 2009

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From left to right: Harry Pluckrose, Jake Burgoine, Keiran Payne, and Stefano Calci at Englemere, Ascot, the headquarters of CIOB bartlett.ucl.ac.uk/index.php" target="_self">UCL Bartlett School of Architecture
The Chartered Institute of Building

Four second-year undergraduates at the UCL Bartlett School of Architecture have won the 2009 Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) Student Challenge.

Jake Burgoine, Stefano Calci, Kieran Payne, and Harry Pluckrose - who are all studying for a BSc in Project Management for Construction - competed against nine other UK teams to win the prestigious award.

The students were required to act as land developers working to identify a suitable plot of land for accommodation for elderly citizens. The challenge consisted of a number of exhaustive exercises, including producing a detailed written report on the suitability of their chosen site and the accommodation's design features, and a 10-minute presentation to industry experts which covered recommendations for the proposed project.

Harry Pluckrose commented: "The task we were set was based around retirement accommodation - selecting an appropriate site and applying technological innovation. We had three hours in total: two hours to prepare the report and one hour to prepare a presentation to deliver to the panel.

"Our report was based on the use of off-site construction methods with emphasis placed on speed of build and cash flow. This was quite different from other teams who concentrated on green and sustainable issues. We also concentrated on the low-maintenance retirement housing market whereas other teams focused on care homes."

The CIOB represents construction professionals, and aims to contribute to the creation of a modern, progressive and responsible construction industry able to meet the economic, environmental and social challenges faced in the twenty-first century.

The judging panel included Tim Gilby and Neil Freeman from McCarthy & Stone; Bridget Boreham, the CIOB Chief Operating Officer and Angus Foster; the CIOB Head of Branch Development.

On the competition's final day, the UCL students' proposal - which won them £200 each - stood out from an imposing field. Tim Gilby, the development director at McCarthy & Stone, said: "I was very impressed with the standard of the competing teams. The subject matter was unfamiliar to them and the raw nature of the real-life site data provided had not been modified to ease their task. Nevertheless, their analysis and team-work generated numerous points of key relevance that practitioners in this field deal with on a daily basis.

"Consequently, and at very short notice, the candidates produced high-quality submissions and presentations, demonstrating a very good grasp of the principal issues. They were a credit to their colleges and the Institute. This bodes well for the forthcoming generation of building professionals."

Image (from left to right): Harry Pluckrose, Jake Burgoine, Keiran Payne, and Stafeno Calci at Englemere, Ascot, the headquarters of the CIOB

 

UCL Context: UCL Bartlett School of Architecture
The Bartlett, made up of the Schools of Architecture, Construction and Project Management, Graduate Studies, Planning and the Development Planning Unit, offers a multidisciplinary approach to the study of the built environment. The school is at the forefront of the debate on the future of cities and uses London as a unique laboratory for studying the architectural, constructional and urban situations that affect the built environment.  

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